'Miracle of Eibar' - Can tiny Spanish club avoid cruel twist of fate?

By Chris Murphy, CNN

Updated 1405 GMT (2205 HKT) August 20, 2014

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Photos:Football fairytale or unfair nightmare?

Raising the Eibar – Tiny Eibar has hit the big time, earning promotion to La Liga for the first time in the club's history. It will be the smallest team to compete in Spain's top flight, with a town of just 27,000 people and a stadium that holds just 5,000 spectators. But there could be a sting in the tail.

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Photos:Football fairytale or unfair nightmare?

Champions elect? – The financial rules that govern the top two leagues in the country decree every team must have a capital equal to 25% of the average expenses of all sides in the second division, excluding the two clubs with the biggest outgoings and the two with the smallest. This has raised the financial bar well above Eibar's means.

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Photos:Football fairytale or unfair nightmare?

Xabi chic – Former Eibar player Xabi Alonso is among those backing the club's bid for promotion.

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Defend Eibar – With the help of World Cup winner Alonso and Real Madrid teammate Asier Illarramendi, the "Defend Eibar" campaign has already gone past the €1.2 million mark thanks to pledges from football fans as far afield as Australia, China, Argentina, Ireland and England.

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Photos:Football fairytale or unfair nightmare?

The gift of Garitano – Gaizka Garitano, a former player at the Basque club, is the man who has masterminded back-to-back promotions for Eibar. With second-placed Deportivo La Coruna losing in the final round, Eibar clinched the second division title to secure the first trophy in the club's 74-year history.

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One for all – "The secret to their success has been humility, hard work and above everything the spirit of the team," lifelong Eibar fan Unai Eraso told CNN. "No-one is above any other. This is indicative of Eibar's culture. The older players teach the younger players how to behave, how to work, how to be a team player."

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Ipurua – Eibar's Ipurua stadium holds just 5,200 spectators but has an atmosphere that can prove intimidating to visiting teams, something the club hopes Real Madrid and Barcelona will find out next season.

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'Confidence boost' – Aranzabal says Eibar's success has been a fillip for the entire town. "Eibar has always been a major industrial force but, since 1980 because of the Spanish recession, it has been through difficult times. We have lost inhabitants, we lost industry and now with this achievement will be a major economic and social boost."

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All for one and one for all – Local journalist Mikel Madinabeitia told CNN: "It's a typical rags to riches story. I wrote in my newspaper Eibar has been the D'Artagnan of the second division, with that famous catchphrase 'All for one and one for all.' There are no celebrities in this team, no millionaires."

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La Liga legacy – If Eibar does join the likes of Real Madrid and Barca in La Liga, it will need to invest in new players. But Aranzabal says: "We won't go crazy wasting a lot of money on getting very expensive players. We want to maintain our team philosophy and do things as we have been doing all these years. We want to stick to our guns and be true to our history."

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Story highlights

Tiny Eibar promoted to La Liga for the first time in the club's history

The Basque team will be the smallest to ever compete in Spain's top division

But financial rules dictate it must raise $2.3 million to avoid relegation instead

Eibar is a town of just 27,000 in the Basque mountains near Bilbao

There is only one fairytale story in Spanish soccer this season, but will it have a happy ending?

Forget Atletico Madrid's first league title for 18 years, disregard its city neighbor Real concluding an exhaustive wait for "La Decima" -- a 10th European Champions League crown.

Because this season is all about the "Miracle of Eibar."

The Basque town has a population of just 27,000 and the club a budget dwarfed by almost all its rivals, yet back-to-back promotions have banked Eibar a place in the big time.

Having already guaranteed a top-tier place, Eibar also claimed the Spanish second division title after second-placed Deportivo La Coruna lost 3-1 at Girona on Saturday.

For the first time in its 74-year history Eibar will compete in La Liga next season, rubbing shoulders with Real Madrid and Barcelona as well as local rivals Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao.

"I don't know if miracles exist but this is something close to a miracle," Alex Aranzabal, club president since 2009, told CNN.

However, amid all the emotion and reverence there is a bitter tinge, because like every famous fairytale fable, the threat of tragedy lurks in the background.

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Despite being self-sustaining and completely free of debt -- unlike a host of other Spanish clubs -- Eibar could actually be relegated to the third tier of Spanish football.

A 1999 decree requires every team to have a capital equal to 25% of the average expenses of all sides in the second division, excluding the two clubs with the biggest outgoings and the two with the smallest.

That has hoisted the financial bar way above the head of Eibar, which has responded by launching a share issue to raise the €1.7 million ($2.3 million) needed to take a place at Spain's top table.

Unsurprisingly, Aranzabal is unimpressed.

While he runs an admittedly small but undoubtedly tight ship, the estimated combined debts of Real Madrid and Barcelona amount to not far off €1 billion ($1.36 billion).

"Even though we have a small budget, we have a different economic model to other clubs in Spain," Aranzabal told CNN. "We have less expenses, fewer outgoings and we always have a small deficit.

"This is something really strange in Spain because almost every team has huge debt, but in our case we have no debt.

"We think it is really unfair because the law was established to assure that all those clubs with a lot of debt had a minimum capital value to attend to all their debts.

"In our case we don't have any debt."

'Special model'

The club's story has struck a chord with football-loving people the world over, and support has been flooding in for its "Defend Eibar" campaign.

Over €1.25 million ($1.7 million) has already been raised, the club's tentacles spreading far and wide thanks to pledges from China, Australia, Argentina, England, Ireland and many more countries.

Crucially, no investor can purchase more than €100,000 worth of shares, ensuring Eibar's principles are kept intact.

"We want the team to remain for the people -- this is one of the ideas of our special model," Aranzabal explains.

"We very much appreciate all the help we have had -- it has been surprising for us, a small club in a small town in the Basque mountains.

"We have discovered that we have a story to tell and that people want hear stories like this, that we are fighting against this rule and we have achieved something big.

"I hope we will get the money but we have to keep going -- if we relax it is the shortest way to failure. It will be difficult but we will get it."

Humility and hard work

The question of finance festering in the background has done little to dilute the delirium among Eibar supporters, which pretty much counts as every single inhabitant of the town.

Since being formed in 1940 in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, the club has never won a major trophy and only flirted with promotion to La Liga once, in the 2004-05 campaign.

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A teenage David Silva, now a star for the world champion Spanish national side and English Premier League winner Manchester City, was among its ranks then, as was Gaizka Garitano, the club's current manager.

He has led the "Armeros" to successive promotions, sticking steadfastly to a culture and identity that has long pervaded the club -- one that embodies the spirit of the tiny town that is equidistant from Bilbao and San Sebastian.

"The secret to their success has been humility, hard work and above everything the spirit of the team," says Unai Eraso, an Eibar native who attended his first match at the age of four.

"No-one is above any other. This is indicative of Eibar's culture. The older players teach the younger players how to behave, how to work, how to be a team player.

"These young guys when they become older, they will do the same. It is a culture that is passed down from generation to generation.

"This year is a like a dream. Under no circumstances did we imagine of getting to La Liga. This is a real miracle."

"This is football and it is a dream machine. Football is the only sport that allows such things, it would be impossible in basketball or athletics," he told CNN.

"It's a typical rags to riches story. I wrote in my newspaper Eibar has been the D'Artagnan of the second division, with that famous catchphrase 'All for one and one for all.'

"There are no celebrities in this team, no millionaires. Jota Peleteiro is like the artist of the group, similar to David Silva, who played at Eibar. He's so creative."

Promotion may have brought unconfined joy to Eibar, but aside from the financial conundrum, it has also thrown up a different web of problems.

Such is Eibar's size and budget, that a summer overhaul is needed if it is to have a chance of holding its own against the best 19 teams in Spain.

"It will be so difficult next season because the competition is so different," Madinabeitia said.

"Eibar will be the smallest town in the history of La Liga, with the smallest budget. They will have to change 50% of the team. They have a difficult summer ahead.

"Real Madrid and Barcelona play in another dimension and there are another set of clubs who play for Europe. If they avoid relegation it will be the most important achievement of Eibar."

Welcoming the superstars

But that is for another day. Now it is all about raising the money and daring to dream about life in La Liga alongside the soccer elite.

"The first day of the season will be very emotional. A day to talk about for all the days of your life," Madinabeitia said.

Photos:World Cup sex ban?

Photos:World Cup sex ban?

Laid back Jurgen – United States soccer coach Jurgen Klinsmann has no problem with his players having sex during the forthcoming World Cup in Brazil. "I think we have a group of guys together and an environment together that is very open, very casual," said the German. "But once we go on the field for training and also for the games, we are very serious and down to business."

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World Cup sex ban? – Klinsmann knows what it takes to win World Cup, having lifted the famous trophy as a part of West Germany's victorious Italia '90 team.

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Hardline Herrera – Mexico coach Miguel Herrera is hoping his players exercise a little restraint during their time in Brazil. "If a player can't go one month or 20 days without having sexual relations, then they are not prepared to be a professional player," he told Mexican newspaper Reforma.

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Photos:World Cup sex ban?

Better Safet than sorry – Safet Susic has reportedly told his Bosnia-Herzegovina team that "there will be no sex in Brazil." The Bosnian coach did add that he would allow his players to masturbate.

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Photos:World Cup sex ban?

Limber Luis? – Luis Felipe Scolari is hoping his Brazil team can live up to all that is expected of them during the tournament. He has no problem with his players having sex, as long as they don't try anything too "acrobatic."

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Photos:Show me the money

Photos:Show me the money

Show me the money – The 23rd edition of the Annual Review of Football Finance published Thursday shows that the total European football market grew to a record £17.1 billion ($28.65 billion) in 2012-13.

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Show me the money – Premier League clubs, including current champion Manchester City, generated the highest revenue in Europe at £2.5 billion ($4.19 billion) in 2012-13.

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Show me the money – The Bundesliga remained Europe's most profitable league with operating profits of £226 million ($379 million), followed by the Premier League, with operating profits of £82 million ($137.3 million).

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Show me the money – According to the report, Spain's top-flight clubs generated £1.6 billion ($2.68 billion) during 2012-13.

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Show me the money – In Italy, Serie A generated a total of £1.4 billion ($2.35 billion).

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Show me the money – French champion Paris Saint-Germain might be flush with cash but the country's top division only managed to bring in £1.1 billion ($1.84 billion) -- the lowest of the top five European leagues.

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Show me the money – Of the £2.5 billion net debt in the Premier League, almost two-thirds (£1.6 billion/$2.68 billion) is in the form of non-interest-bearing "soft loans" of which over 90% related to four clubs, including Roman Abramovich's Chelsea at £984 million ($1.65 billion).

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Show me the money – The British government's tax take from England's top 92 professional football clubs was around £1.3 billion ($2.17 billion) in 2012-13.

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Photos:Real Madrid wins Champions League

Photos:Real Madrid wins Champions League

Real Madrid wins 2014 Champions League final – Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid lifts the Champions League trophy after the team's 4-1 victory over Atletico on May 24 in Lisbon, Portugal.

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Photos:Real Madrid wins Champions League

Real Madrid wins 2014 Champions League final – Iker Casillas lifts the European Champions League trophy after Real Madrid's victory.

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Photos:Real Madrid wins Champions League

Real Madrid wins 2014 Champions League final – Ronaldo celebrates his late penalty to round off the scoring in the final against Atletico.

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Photos:Real Madrid wins Champions League

Real Madrid wins 2014 Champions League final – Gareth Bale celebrates his decisive goal to put Real Madrid 2-1 ahead in the final against Atletico.

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Real Madrid wins 2014 Champions League final – Atletico's Diego Godin puts his side 1-0 up over Real Madrid during their match in Lisbon.

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Real Madrid wins 2014 Champions League final – Casillas makes a desperate attempt to keep out Godin's header as his side fell behind in the Champions League final.

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Real Madrid wins 2014 Champions League final – Bale holds his head in his hands in disbelief after wasting Real's best chance of the first half against Atletico.

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Real Madrid wins 2014 Champions League final – Cristiano Ronaldo shows his frustration as he tries to get his team back into the Champions League final.

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Real Madrid wins 2014 Champions League final – Sergio Ramos celebrates his injury-time equalizer in the Champions League final in Lisbon.